Harry Potter and the Broken Hero
by Lights and Colours
Summary: Mistakes are made, but can Harry redeem himself? Things go wrong at the Department of Mysteries, and Harry learns that he cannot run from his problems, even if he is being forced to. Canon up until OotP. May wiggle some OCs and some non-canon stuff in there too. No slash.
1. Ch 1 - Broken

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, I am just taking her characters on a ride of my own. Warning:- There are graphic themes and scenes in this fic which will not be suitable for younger audiences. You have been warned!

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Chapter 1 - **Broken**

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'The prophecy, boy,' urged Lucius Malfoy. 'The prophecy, and I will spare your friends,' Malfoy gestured to Harry with an outstretched arm, 'even your Godfather,' he said, silkily.

Harry's breath hitched slightly. His heart was beating rapidly, and he could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body. Sirius wasn't here, and now they were trapped in the Department of Mysteries, surrounded by Death Eaters. His vision had led him to the Hall of Prophecy, to this spot at row 97, where Voldemort was torturing his Godfather. He tightened the grip on his wand.

'Where is he?' he asked. 'Where is Sirius? I know you have him.'

Lucius's expression hardened slightly in annoyance. 'He is _safe_. My patience is wearing thin. Come now, hand it over.'

'Let me know where Sirius is and —'

Bellatrix growled. 'Give it to him, Potter — or I'll give Longbottom's parents a playmate,' she said with an evil grin. She pointed her wand lazily at Ginny. Ron stood defensively in front of his sister. Neville shook in a mixture of fear and anger.

'Oh, maybe the Mudblood then …'

'NO! I'll — you can have it,' said Harry. 'Just leave them alone. You take the prophecy and let us go.'

Bellatrix huffed slightly. He had given up far too easy for her liking.

'Oh, of course,' said Avery Junior. 'You'll all be free to go. We _promise_.' He made a half-hearted cross over his heart. A few of the Death Eaters sniggered.

Lucius sighed. He nodded at Bellatrix whose face lit up. She cast the torture curse at Avery, who fell to the floor, writhing in pain. Harry and the others watched as he continued to squirm for several seconds, before the curse was lifted. A few of the Death Eaters backed away from Bellatrix.

'The Dark Lord has asked for this prophecy personally,' said Lucius. 'Mr. Potter has a great weakness for heroics and will not leave without a fight. The Dark Lord knows this, he understands young Harry here, and has guaranteed that a fair trade be made. None of you are to interfere. You have my_ word_, Potter.'

Harry hesitated at first, and then nodded and leaned forward to place the ball into Lucius's hand. He knew they were outnumbered and wouldn't stand a chance winning a battle against the group of Death Eaters. He also knew he couldn't trust Malfoy to keep his promise. Dumbledore and the Order had stressed to him the importance of this prophecy, but he didn't care. To Hell with it, this thing wasn't worth his friend's lives.

Harry handed the prophecy to Malfoy. He was about to shatter the orb in Malfoy's hand and create a confusion when the oddest thing happened. Hermione shouted, 'Harry, NO!' at the same time Malfoy let out a garbled cry and shuddered violently. Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters looked at Lucius in shock. He convulsed a few times, and the prophecy fell out of his hands onto the stone floor in front of Malfoy's feet. Bellatrix shrieked and pointed her wand at Hermione as Lucius's eyes rolled to the back of his head and collapsed, just as the orb smashed. Bellatrix looked in horror at the broken prophecy. A pale blue smoke rose from the shattered remains of the prophecy, and before she could voice her curse, the ethereal voice of Sybill Trelawney could be heard.

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"_**The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"**_

_**.**_

Both groups were silent for a few agonising seconds. Harry stood staring at the ground where the prophecy had fell. _Either must die at the hand of the other…? Neither can live while the other survives…?_

One of the Death Eaters looked down at Malfoy's trembling form and then back up at Hermione. Thinking she had done something to the elder Malfoy, he drew his wand.

'You did this, you MUDBLOOD WHORE!' He fired an arc of purple spell-fire straight at Hermione. Pandemonium broke out as everyone started casting at each other. The D.A. members scattered, flinging curses behind them as they ran. Harry was hit by a stunning spell and collapsed to the ground. Ron dragged Harry back towards the Time room. In a moment of selfless courage, Neville shoved Hermione out of the way before the purple spell hit her. Unfortunately he moved himself into the line of fire instead, and the spell sliced through his clothes and took his arm clean off of his body. Several shelves behind were carved in two and as he staggered back, dozens of prophecy spheres came crashing down. There was an unholy scream as Neville hit the floor in agony, followed by the tremendous crash of shattering glass.

'NEVILLE!' she screamed. She ran over to where he fell, dodging spells and shrapnel flying through the air. Bellatrix and several other Death Eaters apparated away while others gave chase.

.~~*****~~.

Ginny ran, followed by the two Death Eaters who had chased after her. They were attempting to stun her, but her chaser relexes and small frame helped her dodged them all.

She turned a corner and fired a Reducto at the shelves behind her. Before the spell could reach it's destination, a Death Eater suddenly materialised in front the the shelving, looking shocked. The spell hit the Death Eater in the face, blasting the head off his shoulders. Crabbe Senior left this world in a shower of blood and grey matter. Bone, brain and blood hit her pursuers and in a panic they dissapperated. Ginny stopped suddenly and looked at the remains of the Death Eater. She hadn't aimed for him. _Where had he come from? Merlin, she'd killed someone! _Ginny felt weak, leant against the wall and retched. Horrified at what she'd done, she ran, crying, as fast as her legs could carry her.

.~~*****~~.

Hermione hurriedly put out the flames and was banishing broken shelving and glass out of the way, trying to get to Neville. Before she could reach him a hand grabbed her roughly from behind. Her wand was yanked out of her grip and a large, calloused hand wrapped around her neck.

'That curse was meant for _you_, my sweet,' growled Antonin Dolohov. She could smell his rancid breath through his mask. She tried to push him away, but as she tried his hand gripped tighter around her neck and she couldn't breathe. She stopped struggling instantly. His grip loosened slightly, whilst the other made a trail over her breasts and down to her jeans. She let out a terrified whimper and her eyes filled with terror. She heard the fabric of her shirt ripped open.

'No! God, p-please … no …' she pleaded.

He let out a vicious bark of laughter. 'Hah! Don't worry, I wouldn't sully myself with _filth_ like you. My men, on the other —'

'— _REDUCTO!'_

Someone had fired a curse, missing Dolohov by inches and hitting one the of the shelves to his left, spraying splinters of wood and glass everywhere. Dolohov took the brunt of the shrapnel and let go of Hermione as they both attempted to cover their faces. A large piece of wood impaled Dolohov in the arm and he roared with pain. Taking this opportunity, and undeterred by the pain caused by the small glass shards embedded in her arms, Hermione kicked him hard between the legs. He howled in agony, and doubled over. He dropped his wand and staggered. A stunning spell from Luna dropped him. Hermione grabbed her own wand from the floor and pointed it at Dolohov, shaking with undiluted fear. She backed away from him slowly.

'Hermione,' called Luna, rushing over to meet her. Hermione tripped slightly, sat on the floor hard and started to hyperventilate. Luna ran over and hugged the girl, who was simultaneously sobbing and gasping for air. She rocked Hermione in her arms for a few seconds and whispered calming words to her as her breathing calmed down.

'Luna — h-he,' she started. She gave a small shiver. 'He — I was so scared …'

Luna's stunning spell didn't hold as Dolohov woke abruptly and immediately went for his wand. Hermione stiffened in Luna's arms as she saw him. She screamed and with a sweep of her hand, banished a section of the broken shelves straight at him. Several objects slammed into him knocking him back, including a long piece of broken metal which was impaled in his gut. He gave a surprised grunt as the bracket pierced through his back. Both girls turned away as they heard a scream, followed by an almighty CRASH as another large shelve collapsed and crushed the Death Eater.

She burst into tears and buried her head into Luna's jumper.

'Shhh … It's okay,' said Luna, hugging the crying girl tighter. Hermione winced, and Luna loosened her grip slightly. She let go of Hermione, who had wrapped her own arms around herself defensively. She stood up and waved her wand over Hermione.

'You've got some splinters and glass in you, you've got to calm down, I'm going to get rid of them and heal you up, okay?'

Hermione breathed in a long, shaky breath and nodded. Luna twisted her wand, and in a circular motion pulled her arm back. Hermione grimaced as several small shards of glass and wood were pulled magically from her arm.

'I can't get the smaller ones out — we'll have to ask Madame Pomfrey to do that, so I won't heal the wound yet,' she said. 'I'll just bandage them up.' Again, Hermione nodded, and stretched her arms out.

'Ferula,' said Luna calmly. Bandages materialised and wrapped themselves around Hermione and she gave a small sigh as the pain numbed slightly.

Summoning Dolohov's wand and snapping it, she hurried over to Neville who was lying in a heap, covered in broken glass and wood.

Luna looked sadly at Neville and vanished the glass and splinters around him. 'It's okay, he's unconscious, but he's breathing — he's lost his whole left arm,' she said in an even, emotionless voice. 'The heat cauterised the wound before he could lose much blood.

Hermione paled slightly at this news, but looked relieved that he hadn't died.

'Come on, let's find the others,' she said. She bandaged him quickly, levitated him a few feet off of the ground and then moved towards the exit with Hermione in tow.

Just as they reached the Time Room, they bumped into a Death Eater who looked like an older version of Vincent Crabbe. He clumsily fired a cutting hex at Luna which clipped her on the shoulder. As she gasped in pain, Hermione returned fire.

'EXPELLIARMUS!' she cried.

Crabbe Senior went sailing back into the cabinet full of Time Turners, knocking the door off it's hinges. One of the devices smashed, covering him with the white sand contained in the hourglass. He stood up and felt a strange sensation in his body. The sand glowed a faint blue, and Crabbe, a shocked look on his face, vanished.

They met Ginny, Harry and Ron at the revolving door. Ginny had lost all the colour in her face and was curled up in a ball, hugging Ron for dear life. Luna set Neville down next to the door and healed her own wound.

''Mione, I can't wake him,' said Ron.

Hermione pointed her wand at Harry and said, "Rennervate!". Nothing happened. She tried again. On the third time, she conjured a bucket of water and poured it over him. Harry stirred slightly and then shot up.

'Whaza-wha?' he said in confusion.

'Oh, thank Merlin,' said Ron.

'Harry, are you okay?' she asked. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. Everything was moving slightly.

'Y-yeah, I'm fine,' he said, rubbing his head. 'Wet. I think I hit my head or something. And my scar —'

'You might have a concussion,' she suggested. She dried him off, and then passed a finger in front of Harry, who followed it with his eyes.

Ron ran his hand through his hair and looked a little ashamed. 'That's my fault. I kind of threw you against the wall a little, mate,' he admitted. 'Stopped you from getting hit by a killing curse, mind. You're a bit heavy, so I couldn't drag you very fast …'

'Honestly Ron, are you a wizard or not? Why didn't you levitate me?!'

Ron looked surprised. They all laughed a little, even Ginny, and Ron looked down sheepishly.

'Sorry …' he said with a hint of a smile. Ginny punched him playfully in the arm and then gave him a hug, but there was a dark look on her face. He hugged his sister back and, noticing her pained expression, started speaking to her in low tones.

Hermione looked over at the Death Eater that had attacked Harry and Ron.

'That's McNair!' cried Hermione. 'He's the one who almost killed Buckbeak in our third year…'

'The killing curse broke open that tank and those — those brain things — came out and started to attack him,' said Ron.

'Aquavirius Maggots!' exclaimed Luna.

'Riiiiight,' said Ron. 'Anyway, he hasn't moved much since then … Good riddance, I say …'

Harry frowned in pain slightly. 'Urgh — it feels like I've been hit with a bludger,' he said, rubbing his scar. Hermione waved her wand over him.

'It doesn't seem too bad. Try not to hit it again, alright?' she commented with a small smile. He gave a poor attempt at a laugh.

'Hey, I'll try if Ron tries!' he said jokingly.

'Come on, we've got to get out of here,' said Ginny, getting up. 'Neville's…hurt. Which door do we go through?' Harry looked down at Neville and paled.

'Oh no —,' Harry stammered

'Harry, focus,' she said. 'He'll get through this, where do we go?'

'I-I, uh. I don't know,' he replied, not taking his eyes off of Neville's injury.

Luna walked over and pressed her wand to a rune carved in the side of the door frame and it sprang to life. The door span around for a few seconds and rested on a shimmering black door made of stone with a red rune carved in the middle. The door opened, revealing set of stairs leading down into a dark room. They heard pops and shouting coming from the Prophecy room.

'I don't know about you lot, but I say we get out of here before they reach us,' said Ron. They levitated Neville and piled through the door, down the stairs.

Hermione looked at the rune on the door and froze. She said, 'Guys, I don't think we should …' But they were already gone and the voices were getting louder.

She rushed after them shouting, 'WAIT!' The door slammed shut behind her.

.~~*****~~.

Harry and the others reached the bottom of the stairs. He couldn't stop thinking about Neville's injury. He had brought them with him to the Ministry and it was his fault they were hurt. Neville was never going to be the same again, he knew it. '_It's my fault,'_ he thought. What if one of them dies? What if Voldemort had already killed Sirius? Harry had a million scenarios going through his head, each one worse than the other. He was brought out of his reverie by Ron tapping his shoulder. He pointed in front of them. They were in a large, cold room made of stone. In the middle of the room was a dais, with a large stone arch in the centre, covered in runes.

Hermione caught up with them. 'I don't think we should be in this room. The rune on the door isn't a good one — I think it's the rune for sorrow, or something morbid, like death. I'm not sure but I've got a really bad feeling about this place.'

''Mione, if you don't know what it means then —,'

Harry held up his hand to silence them.

'Shhh,'

Harry walked up to the arch. 'What are they saying?' he asked.

'What are who saying?' said Ron.

'The voices — the ones coming from the arch, in the curtain — in the, erm, the veil thing,'

'I can't hear anything,' said Hermione

'Harry, there's nothing there, it's just an arch,' said Ron.

'I can hear them.'

Everyone turned to look at Luna.

'I'm not sure what they're saying, but they seem to be sad,' she explained. 'Maybe there's an infestation of Wrackspurts in there.'

'Luna, there's no such —'

POP! POP! POP! POP!

Four Death Eaters appeared behind them. The D.A members tried to draw their wands, but were all disarmed before they could cast anything. Luna's levitation was cancelled and Neville hit the floor with a dull thump.

'Ah, here you are,' said one. 'Did you honestly think you could get away from us?'

'The mudblood will pay for what she did to Lucius,' said Bellatrix.

'I didn't do anything,' countered Hermione, 'he touched a prophecy that wasn't his. They're charmed to make the thief go insane. He's probably as mad as a hatter.'

Bellatrix sneered at her, and then let out a shrill laugh. 'Looks like the Longbottoms will get a playmate after all,' she cackled. 'Lucius, Lucius, Lucius. I think I'll punish little Harry instead —'

POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!

Several Order members apparated into the room between the students and the Death Eaters.

'Get away from my _Godson_, you bitch!'

Sirius's boot connected with Bellatrix's chest and she flew back with the tremendous force of the kick. The D.A members scrambled for their wands as the Order members traded spells. A few more Death Eaters had apparated into the middle of the fire fight.

Sirius pulled Harry out the way of a stunning curse, behind the stone archway. He nodded down at his footwear.

'Charmed boots, they pack a wallop!' he said with a grin. Harry gave him a huge smile and gave his Godfather a massive hug.

'Sirius, I thought you were here. Where —'

'Well, I wasn't _here_,' he said. 'Same place as always I'm afraid, I was at Headquarters.'

'But Kreacher said you weren't there —'

'Kreacher? Kreacher is — no longer a problem,' he said. 'Turns out the rat had been taking orders from the Lady Malfoy. She isn't a Black anymore, and I had told him he wasn't to take orders from her, but that didn't stop him. Suffice to say, the House-elves don't take too kindly to those who disobey their masters.'

He gave a slight, awkward smile. 'I found his body hanging from one of the pikes in the hallway. Seems like some of the other elves have their own sort of — justice.'

Harry could still hear the voices from the arch, but tried to tune them out. 'They killed him for disobeying an order?'

'Not just that, no, Dobby also found him stealing some of the junk upstairs and trying to give it to the Malfoys.'

He pulled a heavy locket from his pocket. It was engraved with a large "S" and was adorned with images of snakes.

'Dobby didn't—?'

'No, no, he had nothing to do with the deed. I think it was some of the other Black elves,' he said, pocketing the locket. 'There are others who maintain the other Black Estates.'

Seeing his unasked question, he explained, 'I own several places — each one has it's own House-elf. We can't use those properties because I'm still a wanted criminal. Grimmauld Place was already under the Fidelius charm and therefore out of the Ministry's radar. It's unluckly that that vile creature was the one assigned to Grimmauld.'

A red curse whizzed past their heads and they ducked slightly.

'Still, I won't miss him. Speaking of vile creatures, Snivellus contacted us, told us you'd gone on, and I quote, "a fools errand to the Ministry" —'

'I had a vision. Voldemort must have —'

'It's okay, Pup. He's managed to trick the best of us. Now, enough talk, let's go kick some Death Muncher arse and get the heck out of here!'

Sirius pulled Harry up, gave him a quick hug and they both jumped into the fray.

Things were happening too fast for Harry to comprehend. There was chaos all around, spells flying in random directions. He cast a quick shield before rolling out of the way of a rather dangerous-looking blood orange jinx and dodged a stunning spell before sending back a stunner of his own. The spell was blocked by a Death Eater. Moody fired a blasting hex at the Death Eater and it tore through his shields like paper and the Death Eater went flying, hitting the wall with a sickening crunch. Moody gave Harry a nod and barked, 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'

With a quick thanks, Harry ran off to find Ron and the others. He thought he saw a flash of red hair near the stairwell, but soon lost it in the ensuing chaos. He heard a whoop of laughter from behind. Harry turned to see his Godfather, standing confidently on the dais in front of the strange arch. He was duelling Bellatrix Lestrange — taunting her as he lazily blocked and side-stepped her attacks.

'AVADA KEDAVRA!' she shrieked.

Sirius bent to avoid it, in an almost leisurely fashion. He was having far too much fun. She glared at him.

'Come now, my dear cousin,' he said as she fired off another green death curse. 'Not very creative, are we? Can't have had a very competent teacher!' he exclaimed with a grin.

Her features twisted in anger. 'HOW DARE YOU!' she howled. 'You DARE mock my master, you filthy _blood traitor_!'

'Now, now, 'Trixie,' he said. 'Do I deserve such language? It's so very _unlady-like_ of you! — and to the head of the House of Black as well — what would your dear old master think of that, hmmm?'

Growling, she attempted to curse him again, but Harry cast an Impediment jinx which she had to block.

'Good one, Ja — er, Harry,' he said with a wink and a lopsided smile. Harry smiled back and started to shield them while Sirius fought back. They were working well as a team until Moody was blasted straight at Harry. He took the brunt of the Auror's weight and they both fell back in a heap.

'PUP!'

Bellatrix saw her chance. The Reductor curse had left her wand, shattering Sirius' hastily constructed shield and hitting his shoulder, pushing him back. There was the sickening sound of shattering bone that carried around the room, despite the noise of the ensuing battle, followed by a howl of pain from Sirius as he stumbled backwards. Sirius fell towards the archway, a look of mild surprise etched on the Marauder's face as he passed through the veil and was pulled into the void, disappearing from sight.

Everyone in the room stopped to take in what had happened. For a split second Bellatrix looked shocked, but her face contorted with maniacal glee moments later. Harry stood confused, looking at the archway. Why hadn't Sirius come out the other side? He looked back at Bellatrix who, halfway through an incantation, went completely rigid.

'Incarcerous,' came a soft, but powerful voice from the stairway. Thick ropes materialised and wrapped themselves around Bellatrix's petrified form. Albus Dumbledore stood at the doorway, a stony look on his face.

Spells started firing all around again. Harry pushed Moody off himself and ran to climb the steps to the arch, but was stopped by a pair of forceful hands gripping his arm.

'NO! Harry, you can't!' shouted Lupin. Harry turned sharply to look at his ex-professor.

'What? Moony, let go of me —' he protested.

'You, you can't go through the arch,'

'But I've got to help Sirius, he's injured!"'

'You can't, h-he …' There was a pained expression on Lupin's face. Something was wrong. Doubt crept into Harry's voice.

'Moony, w-where's Sirius? Where has he gone?' All the colour had left Lupin's face, and he saw Tonks run over. 'Was it a portal or something? He'll come back … right?'

'Harry, the veil… it's used by the Ministry f-for …' He struggled for the words which wouldn't come. Lupin's eyes betrayed his thoughts as he looked down at the ground, and then back to Harry, tears in his eyes. '… It's … oh God …'

'…It's used for executions.' finished Tonks. 'Harry…Sirius is dead.' She had wrapped her arm around Lupin, who was openly crying now.

Every emotion he had was drained from him in an instant.

_._

_What …? _

_._

_But …_

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Their brief respite ended suddenly when curses were aimed in their direction forcing Tonks back into action. They had no time to grieve — they were pulled back into the fight and had to get to cover. Harry, however, just stood there, completely lost in the moment — he couldn't function.

_ No. No, he can't be._

He felt himself dragged to the ground as a curse missed him by inches. He looked at Lupin, who had his hands covering his face.

'Remus, please,' called Tonks. Her eyes were moist with tears, and her hair had subconsciously changed colour from her normal bubblegum pink to a deep black. 'We've got to help the others. There's only a couple left …'

Remus slowly lifted his head. The expression on his face broke her heart.

A high-pitched giggle came from behind. Harry turned to see Bellatrix sat up, smiling cruelly at him.

'Awww, don't cry, little Hawwy,' she mocked in a sing-song voice. 'I'm sure my cousin will love doggie Heaven!'. Bellatrix cackled.

Something snapped in Harry. The shock and numbness he felt moments ago was replace with an almost primal anger. Magic started rising from his very core. He stood, disregarding his cover and his safety, and pointed his wand at her. He was seething; nothing but raw, red hatred filled his mind. She had taken the one chance of family he had. She had killed the one relationship, the closest thing to a father, he had ever had. He wanted revenge. He wanted her to feel pain. To hurt.

'You — you BITCH!'

With every ounce of hate, every ugly emotion he had, he willed his magic through his wand and uttered a curse he never thought he'd use.

'CRUCIO!'

A red light shot out of his wand and struck Bellatrix — she immediately started convulsing in pain. He held the curse for as long as his magic allowed, cutting off after about ten seconds. Feeling suddenly drained, he fell to his knees. He felt another stab of anger when he saw her smiling slightly. She started cackling again. _The sick bitch was getting off on this?_ He couldn't believe it. He felt his hate rise again. Anger flowed through him. _No, no more_. He staggered to his feet and leapt forward, punching her hard in the face. There was a spray of blood and a gasp of pain before she started once more.

'Again, Hawwy, again!' she laughed. He punched her over and over. He pushed more and more of his anger into pummeling her face, until he had no more energy and then turned away. She moaned for a few seconds, before she spat some blood at him and started laughing harder. Her laughter was like a knife in the silence of the room. He hadn't noticed that the battle had ended.

He turned sharply and pointed his wand at her.

'SHUT UP! SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP, YOU MURDERING COW!' He flicked his wand upwards and shouted, 'LEVICORPUS!' Bellatrix stopped laughing as she was hoisted up into the air by the spell.

'HARRY!' came Hermione's voice. He ignored it.

'LETS SEE HOW _YOU_ LIKE IT!'

She shrieked, looked at the Veil in front of her and then back at Harry. She panicked and tried to wriggle out of her bonds. His cold eyes never left hers. In a sweeping motion, he threw her screaming into the direction of the veil.

'NO, HARRY!' cried Dumbledore, but it was too late. Harry turned and watched in horror as Bellatrix flew towards Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who were standing in front of the arch. They collided, and all three were knocked through the veil.

No.

'No … NO! — NOOOOOO!' he screamed.

Harry collapsed to the floor, exhausted and in shock. He let out a sob followed a tortured moan. What had he done. Sweet Jesus, what in Merlin's name had he done?

He looked around and saw, in horror, Fudge and a number of Aurors looking down at him. He saw Dumbledore to his right; there was no familiar twinkle in his eyes, just a sad look — a look of …disappointment?

'Sir, it's Sirius, h-he's dead,' Harry choked out. 'Bellatrix, she …' The weight of his actions came crashing down on him. 'Sir … I … didn't mean — Moony, I —'

Hermione looked ashen, tears streaming down her face. She was holding up Ron, who, sporting a black eye and a swollen jaw, was struggling to stay standing.

'Harry, what —'

'ARREST HIM!' cried Fudge.

'Sir, wait, I-,' he began to protest, before he was silenced and bound.

'Nooo!' cried Hermione. She tried to reach Harry, but was held back by an Auror.

'Is it secure?' asked Fudge. The Auror nodded. 'Good, are the rest of them gathered up? Right, excellent.'

'You, check his wand!' called Fudge. The Auror with Harry's wand cast a spell on his wand. The tip glowed white for the Levicorpus charm, and then glowed with the red light of the Cruciatus curse, and a recording of Harry shouting the curse sounded out. The room had fallen silent. People were starting to talk in hushed voices.

'Cornelius,' Dumbledore began, 'I think we should talk this over. Maybe —'

'No, Albus. The boy is crazy. He has filled your head with this You-Know-Who nonsense, and now this! He was seen committing the act by my own eyes, not to mention by my whole Auror department. I can't let this slide,' said Fudge. 'He killed an _Auror, Albus_.' Dumbledore looked down and sighed.

A weathered looking Auror looked at Harry menacingly, and waved his wand in his direction. A scroll of parchment was conjured in front of him, floating a few feet in the air. As if written by an invisible quill, words started to appear on theparchment. Harry gave a slight shudder — it reminded him of Riddle's diary. A voice rang out from the scroll.

.

"**18th June, 1996.** **Harry James Potter. You are charged with the murders of Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) and Remus John Lupin,**" said the voice, "**You are also charged with the casting of an illegal curse, namely the Cruciatus curse, with intent to cause harm. You will be taken to a holding cell to await trial. If found guilty, the minimum sentence is life in prison. Since you are underage, you may be represented by your magical guardian.**"

.

Fudge motioned for a couple of Aurors to take him away.

Harry began to panic, his eyes pleading silently with the Headmaster. He knew he would get a trial, but this wasn't a cover up, he had actually cast the curse — he was guilty of those deaths, and no lawyer in the wizarding world could save him now. He'd go straight to Azkaban. Oh God, not Azkaban. He couldn't handle one Dementor, let alone the army of them that guarded the wizard prison. He would die in the first few days. The Headmaster looked back with a sad, resigned look and shook his head. There was nothing he could do for now, he just hoped that Harry wouldn't give up hope. Maybe he could could call in some large favours to get him parole of some kind.

Harry was dragged away, past a horrified looking Hermione. He wanted to say something, to tell her things would be okay. But they wouldn't. He saw Luna, crying her eyes out near the stairs. Harry saw what she was looking at and fainted.

.

Lying in a pool of blood on the floor — _in pieces_ — was the torn up body of Ginny Weasley.

.

* * *

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A/N:

This is my first piece of FanFiction. I hope you all enjoy it! Please comment, critique, and let me know what you did and did not like. Let me know if I'm making any major mistakes! Please & Thank you!

Just to let you know, this isn't an 'Harry in Azkaban' story, but you'll just have to wait to see how the story progresses. And _yes_, I do love cliffhangers… :D

Note: I cleaned up the chapter, sorted out some silly spelling and grammar mistakes, and attempted to add my own indents, but FFN doesn't seem to like them, nor does it like line breaks, so I've had to use periods. Imagine they're white space. I seem to be unable to write the name of this website here either. Is it taboo or something? Like a 'Macbeth' kinda thing?


	2. Ch 2 - Roadblocks and Diversions

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, I am just taking her characters on a ride of my own. Warning:- There are graphic themes and scenes in this fic which will not be suitable for younger audiences. You have been warned!

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Chapter 2 - **Roadblocks and Diversions**

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Hermione watched as Harry dropped to the ground.

'HARRY, what's wrong with — Oh! —' said Hermione, her eyes finding the area where the young redhead lay. Her eyes went wide. 'OH GOD, GINNY! JESUS, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE —'

Her breathing quickened and she started sobbing and held tightly onto Ron, who had passed out from pain and, fortunately, had not seen the grizzly state of his sister.

'WHY! Whyyyyy …' she sobbed.

Dumbledore hurried to Ginny as several Aurors hoisted Harry back up and dragged him to the stairs. They levitated him up and out of the Death chamber. Dumbledore conversed with a healer who was giving an uncharacteristically emotional Luna a calming draught. He spoke a few words to Luna, and then took one of the calming draughts offered to him and walked over to Hermione, handing her the vial.

She fumbled with the cork of the potion and drank it between sobs, almost choking when she tried to inhale too soon. Her crying slowly abated, but there were still tears running down her face and her breath was still uneven.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'It is noble that you would grieve for your friend with such passion, but it would be unwise to jump to conclusions,' he said, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

'But the blood, oh God, so much —' she said weakly, her head in hands.

Dumbledore gave her an understanding look, and a small smile.

'Miss Weasley is still alive,' he said. Hermione looked up sharply and gave him a surprised look. 'It appears that she attempted to apparate to avoid a spell. I had already placed anti-apparition wards around the room, and thus the warding forced her to apparate _through_ the spell.'

Dumbledore looked on with an amused expression as Hermione hiccoughed and wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, much like a small child would.

'What spell would h-have done that?' she asked.

'It seems Miss Weasley is the _second_ person to survive a killing curse,' he remarked.

'Oh,' she said.

'Oh indeed. If my theory is correct, she couldn't pass through the spell for the same reasons you cannot block the spell with a magical shield,' he explained, 'and whilst the spell would not sever the soul in that state, it did force her to splinch herself,' he looked down at Ginny, 'rather grievously.'

'So she's only splinched herself?'

'That is correct,' replied the Headmaster. 'It looks quite — gruesome — but it is not something that cannot be fixed. We can survive major splinching because apparition breaks down our bodies magically — in a same way a muggle television sends information through the airways. Her magic is keeping her alive because Ginevra has yet to return fully to her normal form.'

'Oh thank Heavens,' she sighed in relief. 'It looked like she'd been attacked by a werewolf. What about the blood?'

'That is just another part of the splinching, I'm afraid. The blood will be replaced. The situation looks worse than it is, and I have been assured that she will be fine in a few days.'

She wiped a few fresh tears from her eyes with her sleeve. 'W-what about Harry?'

'I am afraid Harry is beyond my help, Miss Granger,' said Dumbledore sadly. 'However, I will do my upmost to see he is given as much help as possible.'

'But it was an accident! Surely they see that?'

Dumbledore took his glasses off with a sigh, cleaned them gently and then put them back on.

'Harry is in a difficult situation. He may not have killed Remus or Kingsley on purpose, but it was his intention to kill Bellatrix —'

Hermione went to object and Dumbledore held up his hand to stop her.

'I daresay Bellatrix deserved it, but the fact remains that he committed murder in cold blood, and in front of the worst possible of witnesses,' he said. 'Fudge and the Ministry are more concerned with Kingsley's death, since he is an Auror. I understand there is a similar sentiment in the muggle world with regards to the murder of police officers?'

She nodded in agreement.

'The sad fact remains that if Kingsley hadn't died, Mr. Potter may still be free.'

'What, even after killing Professor Lupin?' she asked.

'Yes. Bellatrix was a Death Eater and Remus, as a werewolf, was considered less than human in the magical world. Neither would have caused much commotion, and Harry may have been able to buy his way out of the use of an unforgivable. He may have even received an award for ridding the world of two "dangerous creatures". It is a unfair situation, but Harry and I have caused Cornelius problems this past year, trying to convince him of Voldemort's return,' he said. 'He is after his "pound of flesh" from Harry, so to speak.'

Hermione frowned down at the ground in thought. A healer walked over and ran her wand over Ron.

'Ah yes, Mr. Weasley. Please heal him, but perhaps, do not wake him until Miss Weasley has been transferred to St. Mungos?' suggested Dumbledore. 'It might be kinder on the boy.'

The healer nodded, and started to fix Ron's jaw. She cast a few spells which stopped the swelling, and then another causing the jaw to snap into place with a nasty _crack_. Hermione winced.

'How is Mr. Longbottom?' enquired Dumbledore.

The healer took out some salve and started to apply it to Ron's cheekbone.

'We're not too sure. He has lost some blood and his entire left arm in the attack. He has been given blood replenishers and Pepper-up potion. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his vitals, but we don't want to force him awake just in case he lapses into shock,' she said. 'It will take some surgery back at St. Mungos to dull the nerves at the end of the stump. He is currently in a magical coma, which we are going to sustain until after the surgery. After that, it's up to him to wake up on his own.'

'Can you fix his arm?' asked Hermione.

'I'm afraid that even with the magic we posses, we cannot grow limbs from nothing. Mr. Longbottom's arm was incinerated by the curse.'

Hermione shuddered at the thought of being hit by the curse that was meant for her. Poor Neville.

'Is there anything I can do?'

'I'm afraid not. The best thing you can do now is to Floo over to the Hospital Wing and have Madam Pomfrey take a look at that arm, Miss Granger,' he said, pointing at her bloodied jumper. She nodded.

'… Professor, will Harry be —'

There was a thump near the arch, and then a scream from one of healers.

'S-sirius Black!' she cried.

'IT'S HIM! BLACK IS HERE!'

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_What?!_

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Dumbledore whipped his head around and looked startled for a second. Lying on the floor, behind the arch, was the prone form of Sirius Black. _How? How could this be?_ He drew his wand from his robes.

'Is that —'

'Miss Granger, this is very important. Take the Floo to Hogwarts as soon as you can. Find Poppy and Severus and tell them to meet me at Headquarters.'

'But sir —'

'_Now_, Miss Granger.'

Hermione nodded quickly ran for the stairs, pushing past the group of people who were watching Sirius from the other side of the room. Dumbledore strode over to Sirius without another word. Two Aurors were approaching fast.

'Sir, I'll have to ask you stay back,' said one. 'This is mass-murderer Sirius Bl —'

Dumbledore silenced the Auror with a wave of his wand. The other Auror looked startled and pulled out his wand.

'I am sorry Mr. Turpin,' he said, as he slashed his wand down. A pale blue arc of light left his wand and the Auror's body went limp. He fell to the floor in surprise, still conscious but unable to operate his body. His limbs flailed about like rubber, making him look like a ridiculously oversized human jellyfish. The silenced Auror tried to disarm Dumbledore, but in an unusually graceful move for a 150 year old man, he sidestepped the curse and bound the Auror in ropes. After stunning both of them, he knelt beside Sirius. Several healers looked on in shock.

'He has lost 80 percent of his bones and all of his tendons have been disconnected,' he told the healers, nodding to the flailing Auror. 'Skelegrow and Exsarcio potion should do.'

A few more Aurors had heard the commotion and were running down the stairs.

'FAWKES!' Dumbledore shouted. Luna and the healers watched in awe as a large red and gold bird appeared in the room, surrounded by a ball of fire. The flames died as quickly as they came. Fawkes landed on Sirius and nudged Dumbledore. The Aurors stopped as they reached Dumbledore.

'Oh, don't mind me, gentlemen,' he said.

The phoenix gave a short trill, and in a flash of flame they were gone.

.~~*****~~.

The last thing that went through Sirius's mind was the memory of Moody barking "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" during Auror training. He remembered that memory quite clearly, as he had spent a week transfigured as a poodle, no thanks to James. He had kept trying to prank his friend and fellow Maurauder when, drinking from the wrong goblet, turned himself into a two-foot tall pink poodle, complete with a bright red collar and matching bow. Moody thought he could learn a lesson from it, and spelled him so the transfiguration would last all week. James didn't let up for _months_.

Falling through the veil wasn't painful at all. Neither, strangely enough, was his shoulder injury. Looking down, he saw there was no blood or bone — no sign of the wound whatsoever. He was wearing plain white pyjama like clothes, which he was sure he wasn't wearing beforehand. Looking around, he noticed that he was in a bright, white room. The room was quite empty, save for a strange black mist in the centre. He stepped closer to it, when a powerful voice boomed out.

'**Sirius Orion Black**,'

'Bloody heck,' he exclaimed, jumping back slightly. He whipped his head around, looking for the person who spoke. He was still alone.

'**You have been judged for your crimes.**'

Sirius gulped, _oh shite_. 'C-crimes?'

'**You have been given clemency for passing into our world,**' the voice said. It was coming from within the depths of the thick mist.

'I — what? Where am I?'

'**You are in the between. This is the place everyone goes to be judged.**'

'Wait, does that mean …' he asked. _Oh shite, indeed_.

Answering his own question, he said, 'I'm dead, huh? Bugger.'

There was silence from the mist.

'So, what happens now?'

'**Both souls cannot pass through at the same time.**'

'Both souls?'

'**Tom Marvolo Riddle, the one you call "Lord Voldemort".**'

'Wha — I don't understand. Vol-Volde … he's here?' he asked, looking around.

'**The soul within the locket. It is an **_**abomination**_**,' **it said, the word "abomination" echoed loudly throughout the room, '**and as such we will destroy it. We will trade this for your safe passing — for this you have been given clemency of your crimes.**'

Sirius pulled the locket out of his pocket and tossed it to the ground like it was a diseased animal. He took a few steps back.

'That thing?' he pointed to the locket. 'That has part of You-Know-Who trapped inside it?' he said in disgust.

'**The one you call "Lord Voldemort" has split his soul. He has divided his essence seven-fold. This is a crime for which the punishment is annihilation. There are five pieces left.**'

'He split his soul?! Merlin above …'

'**We will trade each soul piece for any one who has yet to be judged,**' said the voice.

'Really? So can James Potter be …' he asked wistfully.

'**No. He has already been judged,**' said the voice with some finality.

'Oh, right,' he said sadly.

'**Send the object through the door to our world, and we will destroy the soul within.**'

The mist seemed to contract and became denser.

'**The time draws near. Take the door back to your world,**' said the voice, '**or pass on after we have destroyed the tainted soul. The choice is yours.**'

'Wait, what door,' he said, before seeing the same stone archway he had entered in to his left.

'Oh. Yes. Yes please, I want to return!' he said eagerly.

Sirius walked over to the door. He looked up slightly and smiled gently.

'Sorry James, sorry Lil's — soon, but not too soon, eh? I've still got someone too look after, haven't I?'

He looked at the shimmering veil of the arch. 'And you know me, I was never one to arrive _early_ to a party!'

Steeling himself, he walked through the arch once more, and his world went black.

.~~*****~~.

Harry awoke to find a horrible burning sensation in his scar. It had hurt earlier, but the closer he got to the Entrance hall of the Ministry of Magic, the worse it got. The pain it was causing was stopping him from thinking straight. He was being levitated through a corridor, into one of the waiting lifts. Fudge stepped in beside the Auror who was levitating Harry.

'Ah! Awake now are you, Potter?' he asked. 'Good, let's get you up to the DMLE and sort you out. You can leave, Johnson, I want to have a word with Mr. Potter.'

The Auror nodded and left the lift just before the gated iron doors closed.

Harry tried to look around. The pain was getting worse and he could hardly see straight.

'Ginny …' he said in a weak voice.

Fudge ignored him.

'Harry,' said Fudge with a look that was supposed to be comforting, but looked more like he was passing wind. 'It's such a waste, a promising young lad like yourself, falling through the gutter like this. I know I've got to be hard in front of everyone else, but maybe we can come to some sort of … arrangement … together, that will better both of our lives.'

Harry looked at him blankly. Fudge, undeterred, bristled on.

'You don't want to spend your life in a dark, cramped prison, do you?' Harry thought about the cupboard under the stairs and laughed darkly.

Fudge frowned slightly. He decided to change tactics.

'_The-Boy-Who-Lived. _There could be such great things ahead for you, my boy. With a word from me you could be _anything_ you want to be. You like Quidditch, don't you? I could get you on to _whatever_ team you wanted. Maybe you could even become Minister like myself one day. You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours.' He said. 'I know the Potters have gold, and maybe you can help me on the campaign trail …'

Harry whispered something.

'I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?'

'I said, get fucked …'

Fudge went red in the face, 'NOW SEE HERE! I —'

Harry screamed out as his scar burst into pain. It felt like something was tearing his forehead open from the insides. It was excruciating.

'ARRGGH!' Harry cried in agony. It felt like he was staring directly at the sun. He bit his lip hard. 'NggggARGH!'

Blood started to seep out of his scar. Fudge paled, looking unsure what to do. The door to the lift opened and he lead Harry out, grabbing him by the shoulders.

'W-what's the matter, Potter?'

The pain was intense. Voldemort was somewhere nearby, he knew it. Harry was on the verge of passing out.

'E's nrr,' mumbled Harry.

'What?'

'He's n'er'

'Speak up, boy!' demanded Fudge.

A cold voice spoke from in front of them, 'He said, '_He's near_''

Fudge looked up and saw his worst nightmare. Standing in front of the wand checking station, next to two dead Aurors, was Lord Voldemort.

'Good evening, Minister' he hissed.

Fudge paled even more, released his grip from Harry and took a few steps back. A trail of urine left the leg of his trousers as he stumbled back, past Harry's floating form.

'Y-you!' he cried, pointing a stubby finger at him. 'H-how, it can't — it can't be! You're d-dead!'

'Ah yes, news of my demise has been greatly _exagerated_,' he replied with a smirk.

'H-h-how?'

Voldemort gestured to himself, standing up to his full height. 'I have done what no other has,' he said. 'I have achieved immortality.'

'B-but, Lily Potter, she —'

'That Mudblood did NOTHING!' he yelled. 'I am proof that I did not die that day. I have been biding my time … that whore accomplished _nothing_.'

'Please don't call my mum a whore,' said Harry. He was still bound, floating beside Fudge. He wasn't looking at Voldemort, but seemed to be paying more attention to the pain in his scar. Voldemort's expression changed from anger to one of delight.

'Ah, Harry, I didn't see you there. We meet again. How lovely,' he said with amused tones.

Voldemort flicked his wand and Harry hit the ground with a grunt. The ropes binding him slackened.

Fudge looked quickly between Harry and Voldemort. Harry sat himself up and looked Voldemort in the eye. There was a defeated look on his face, 'Hi Tom.'

Voldemort shot a dark look at Harry at the use of his real name.

'T-tom?' asked Fudge.

'Yeah, his real name is Tom Riddle,' said Harry nonchalantly, pulling the ropes off of himself.

'Really?'

Standing up, he said, 'Yup. "Tom Marvolo Riddle", it spells out "I am Lord —"'

'Potter, ENOUGH!' said Voldemort angrily. Harry ignored him. Voldemort sent a rather painful stinging hex at him.

'LISTEN TO ME BOY!'

Harry winced and looked up. Voldemort was angry, but also a little surprised. Harry looked disinterested. This wasn't the face of a warrior of the light, this was the face of a boy who had given up. The boy sighed.

'I don't want to do this …' he muttered, dejectedly.

'Riddle? Riddle — that's not a Pure-blood name …' said Fudge in disbelief. 'That means y-you're a —'

'Half-blood, yeah,' finished Harry.

Riddle turned to the pudgy little man and roared with fury, drawing his wand back and slashing it down. Fudge gave a yelp as a tower of flame was conjured in front of them. Both Harry and Fudge stepped back from the intensity of the heat produced by the towering inferno. Several snake like shapes danced in and around the tower. It moved towards Fudge.

'Aguamenti!' AGUAMENTI! OH MERLIN, IT'S FIENDFYRE!' he screamed.

He shrieked like as girl as his hair and clothes caught fire. He lept to the side, dropping his wand and rolled on the floor, desperately trying to put the fire out. Harry stepped back until he reached the wall, as far from the flames as he could reach. Voldemort twisted his wand and yanked it straight up in the air. The flames vanished.

Fudge whimpered and got to his feet. His face and left side were badly burnt by the flames. He gave a moan as the remains of his expensive silk shirt peeled off of his charred skin. Parts of it had melted, fusing it to his body. He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and held it weakly in front of him. Voldemort glared at Fudge.

'I will not have you insult me, you insolent man,' he said in icy tones. 'You would do well to remember the power that I control.'

Fudge was whimpering like a child, paying no attention to Voldemort.

Voldemort sighed slightly, 'Very well. It seems your term as Minister has come to an end.'

Voldemort slashed his wand horizontally, and a bright white flash lit up the room for a split second. A thin red line appeared on Fudge's abdomen, which quickly peeled open, revealing a massive wound. Blood overflowed onto the floor, followed by his intestines. Fudge was eviscerated by the spell. Surprised, he dropped the wand and clawed desperately at his entrails, trying to keep them in his body. He fainted and fell the the floor in a heap.

Harry looked on at the death of the Minister. Voldemort couldn't place his expression. There was something odd about his behaviour.

Voldemort flicked his wrist and the wand on the floor flew into Harry's arms.

'We duel,' he commanded.

Harry looked down at his holly wand — blood stained the handle and several parts of the shaft.

'I thought you wanted the prophecy, killing me won't do any good …' he said, looking up.

'I have already extracted the prophecy from one of my Death Eaters,' he said. 'Severus will be punished for — not paying enough attention. It does not concern me though. You have been marked with that scar. There is no 'power' that you can defeat me with. All that is left is for one to kill the other. So — _we duel_.'

'No.'

'Come now Harry, let us begin. Remember — we must keep tradition. First, we bow!'

'No, I can't. I can't keep doing this.'

He closed his eyes and thought about what had happened. Sirius, Remus, Ginny, Kingsley — They had all died tonight and it was his fault. Cedric, his parents — they had all died because of him. He had had enough. Maybe they would forgive him in the next life.

Voldemort snarled, 'You _will _duel me — you will die and I will be done with this troublesome prophecy once and for all.'

He looked up at Voldemort with an unreadable expression on his face.

He spoke quietly to himself, 'I'm sorry Hermione …' He spoke with an ounce of sadness in his voice.

'Bye, Tom,' he said, resting his wand beneath his own chin. Voldemort looked confused. Harry just took a deep breath.

'Go fuck yourself, Tom,' he said. '_Avada Kedavra_.'

Voldemort's eyes went wide as the green light of the killing curse struck Harry. It lit him up momentarily and he collapsed to the ground. For the first time in years, Lord Voldemort was speechless.

Miles away in Scotland, several small, silver instruments on the Headmaster's desk suddenly stopped working. A small alarm bell went off, but no-one was around to hear it.

Voldemort felt a great pain rip throughout his body. He fell to one knee and let out a mighty shout. He imagined this was what it was like to be under the Cruciatus. As quickly as it came, it ended. In a fit of rage, he started flinging blasting curses in every direction, hitting fireplaces and shattering office windows. Glass and stone flew everywhere. The large banner showing Fudge's likeness burst into flames. He had never felt so angry. _Damn you Potter!_ This was supposed to be HIS victory. The prophecy was supposed to be fulfilled! _Either must die at the hands of the other!_ Enraged, he flicked his wand and Fudges body was flung into the air, towards the fountain.

A bell rang from the other side of the hall, signalling the arrival of the lifts.

He was too angry to carry out the plan of revealing himself to the wizarding world. Too many of his servants had been captured, the fools. How could they fail, they were only children! Someone would pay. It would take time to build up his Death Eater force to full strength, and revealing himself now would be a mistake. He made an intricate motion with his wand. The blood that Fudge had deposited on to the marble floor began to move and started to form letters. He raised his wand high into the air.

'MORESMORDE!' he bellowed, casting the Dark Mark. With one last look at Harry, he twisted on the spot, and with an almighty crack dissapperated away, tearing through the anti-apparition wards.

Several people exited the lifts and halted as they turned the corner. There were several gasps and a few screams.

The Dark Mark hung in the air forebodingly, filling the ceiling of the hallway with a dark green mist. The body of Harry Potter lay in front of the Statue of Magical Brethren. Fudges half burned body hung from the statue by his intestines.

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On the floor beside Harry, written in blood, were the words, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUMBLEDORE."

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A/N:

Hey, second chapter! I'm really enjoying writing this story, so I'm barreling through it. The pace might slow down a little in the next few chapters, but hey — when I'm on a roll, I ROLL! :D I'm aiming for about 250k+ words. Ambitious, I know, but I've got a lot of ground to cover.

For those who think the story is a little too, erm — harsh — to some of the characters, I apologise. Not everyone is going to die a horrible death, but not everyone is going to get an easy time either. And the gory stuff is so fun to write! I might tone it down — a little — in a bit. I'll try not to be too unforgiving, it will just be those who _deserve it_ (Yes Skeeter, I'm looking at YOU!) ;)

Crystal: Thank you ever so much for your kind words! It is so inspiring to hear something like that so early on, it's kind of like a caffeine rush! And it actually does make me motivated to write, who knew? (Here I am thinking all those FF writers who mine for reviews all the time were just self esteem junkies! Haha.) Thank you! I hope you will continue to enjoy it. Stay for the ride, wont you? ;)

Thank you for all those who have favourited and followed this story! I hope I won't disappoint! Please review if you can!


	3. Ch 3 - Peacock Feathers and Greasy Hair

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, I am just taking her characters on a ride of my own. Warning:- There are graphic themes and scenes in this fic which will not be suitable for younger audiences. You have been warned!

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Chapter 3 - **Peacock Feathers and Greasy Hair**

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Severus Snape was not having a good day. His life as a double-agent was hardly comfortable, but today had been particularly punishing. He had spent most of the night training the newer Death Eater recruits and had been punished for their lack of success in recent raids. He pondered to himself and wondered if he would build up a resistance to the Cruciatus curse, based on the amount of times he had experienced it. It wasn't his fault that they were blundering idiots! If Yaxley continued to recruit only school children, he would kill the man himself! He had returned to the castle to find out he had no post-Cruciatus pain relief potion and would have to brew some more, which would take a week.

Then that deplorable toad of a woman had used up nearly all of the school stock of Veritaserum, and although it was mainly stock that his NEWT level class had brewed and was barely passable, he was still left with only his personal stores. He wondered which lucky student had gotten Ashley Blott's potion. That particular brew of Veritaserum was so bad that even Longbottom might have been able to throw off it's effects. He has only passed her because her father ran the best apothecary in Knockturn Alley, and he wanted to keep in good stead. Umbridge was obviously incompetent and ignorant in the administration of truth serums — she had given the fifth through seventh year students several times the safe adult dosage and had poisoned most of them. Marcus Belby had almost died there and then. It had been sheer dumb luck that he was there with a Bezoar on hand to stop the dosage being fatal. He always carried one — he never knew when someone would try to slip something into his food.

He had wasted valuable ingredients brewing cauldrons full of antidote for Veritaserum poisoning, which required Ashwinder eggs and Blue Doxy wings. That great oaf Hagrid had, surprisingly, been trying to breed Ashwinders and had a few on hand. He wondered if the buffoon knew they were self replicating, and didn't mate with others. He kept the _fire_ creatures in his _wooden_ hut. A _wooden_ hut! His head still hurt from the idiocy. Still, he had a healthy supply of frozen Ashwinder eggs and was perfectly willing to give them away. Would wonders never cease. Blue Doxy wings were rare and very expensive, and had to be imported from southern Peru. He may have been able to substitute the Ashwinder eggs, but these were different. They were the alexipharmic agent used in the potion and were vital. He had been forced to use his own personal stock — else he let the little brats die. He would make them pay in the coming term.

Then Potter had the nerve to run off to the Ministry — endangering several others — leaving him with the responsibility to report it to Albus, and then to run around and search for people to send as a rescue team to go and save them from what was so _obviously_ a trap. Yes, that spawn of James Potter had found a way to fuck up his afternoon yet again. How many times had he told Potter that the Dark Lord was a master Legillimens? Even Granger seemed to understand, albeit in her know-it-all way, but that brat was easily swayed by the Dark Lord and too stubborn for his own good. Just like the Gryffindor his wretched father was.

And what was that in Umbridge's office? _"He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden"_. He sighed. If that fool Fudge wasn't completely paranoid about Dumbledore and the Order's activities, he would be once the old toad reported back.

To top if all off, his Dark Mark had flared in agony for a few seconds, and had continued to burn painfully for the past few minutes. The Dark Lord was either very happy or very angry. He was pretty sure which.

Snape frowned in discomfort. Blast it all. He was not a happy man. Then again, he _never_ was.

There was a frantic knocking at the door. He strode over and opened it. Hermione Granger stood in the opening of the doorway.

'P-professor,' she said, trying to catch her breath.

_Oh great. Granger._

'What _is_ it, Miss Granger?' he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

'Sir, Professor Dumbledore — he needs you to come — it's urgent. Sirius, he —'

'What has Black done now?' he asked with some annoyance.

'At the Ministry — Death Eaters —' she said, still winded and struggling to get the words out. Snape held is hand up for her to stop. She did so and took a few deep breaths.

'Calm yourself child,' he commanded. 'Now, what happened at the Ministry?'

She quickly recalled the events that had transpired at the Department of Mysteries. She kept tripping over her words trying to get it out as fast as possible, but got through the whole thing in less than a minute. _Merlin, does this girl stop to breathe?_ He paled slightly when she mentioned the prophecy in full. _So, that's what I missed. _Yes, his master was probably _most_ displeased. His day was about to get _much_ worse. As McNair would often say, _'Fuck it all'_. It would be most prudent to brew some Cruciatus pain relief potion, post haste.

'And then Bellatrix cast a spell at Sirius who fell through the Veil!'

Oh, this was interesting.

'The Veil? The Veil in the Death Chamber — the one that connects the world to the next?'

'Yes,' she confirmed, 'I think so. I'm not sure, I think the rune on the door said "death". He fell through it and didn't come through the other side.'

Oh yes, this was pleasant news.

'So, the mutt finally snuffed it. I always knew he would go rushing into trouble and get himself—'

'— No, that's the thing —'

'— Twenty points from Gryffindor, for interrupting me,' said Snape coldly.

Hermione frowned. 'But Sir —'

'— Pray I don't take more, Miss Granger —'

'Yes, but —'

'Enough!' he said. 'You are an insufferable know it all and need to learn some —'

Hermione had taken her wand out and silenced the man non-verbally with a quick jab. He looked surprised when no words came out of his mouth, only to have his face twist in anger. He pulled his own wand out and cancelled the charm.

'How _dare_ you,' he said, his voice shaking with anger.

'SIR!' she pleaded. 'Please, I'm sorry, but Professor Dumbledore needs you, he told me it was urgent — he has Sirius at Headquarters. He fell through the Veil, but a few minutes later he fell out of the other side. Professor Dumbledore fought off the Aurors and Fawkes took them somewhere. I think Sirius might be hurt …'

'Impossible,' he said in disbelief, his anger at the girl forgotten. 'That thing is only one way!'

'I saw it myself — the Professor asked me to get you and Madam Pomfrey and tell you to go to headquarters!'

Snape fought with his emotions for a few seconds, before striding over to a cupboard and summoning several potion vials into a travel bag. He turned to Hermione.

'You will be serving a month of detentions with Fil — no … with _Professor Umbridge_,' he said, enunciating her name, 'for assaulting a teacher.'

He added, 'I will contact Poppy myself — return to your dorms.'

Hermione acted ashamed, but was secretly relieved. There would be no detentions with Umbridge, as she was currently indisposed. She wondered if he knew about her little rendezvous with the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.

'Yes Sir … but you need to —'

'— I asked you to leave, Miss Granger,'

'Yes, but —'

'Get out,' he seethed.

'But Sir, there's more and —'

'OUT!' he bellowed.

In a panic she nodded, turned and ran back down the hallway. Snape gathered the remaining items, then locked and warded his office. He wasn't sure what had happened with Black, but he hoped the fool died before he got there. His oath to Dumbledore prevented him from having … accidents.

Severus Snape was left with the knowledge that he was about to attempt to save one of his least favourite people. Somewhere, he knew James Potter was laughing at him.

.~~*****~~.

'**You have been found guilty of possessing the mark of the tainted. His blood flows through yours and taints your very soul. For this you must be destroyed.**'

The black mist slowly started to form the shape of a person. It faded, until an old man with greying hairs and eyes that seemed older than time appeared from the spot where the mist had disappeared.

Bellatrix grabbed for her wand, which was nowhere to be found. A scowl formed on her face. She was wearing these ridiculous white clothes which held none of her posessions.

'Madam Lestrange,' he began, 'you have been judged by the nether-world and have been found guilty of multiple crimes. Your life has been … unfortunate … it is a pity that you were turned onto a path of evil.'

'Shut up! Where is my wand, you bastard!?'

The old man continued to smile at her without answering her question.

'Grrrr. When my master comes for me …' she growled.

'… He will receive the same fate as yourself, Madam. I wonder if you understand. Are you aware that you have died?'

She stopped in her tracks, frozen, eyes wide. 'Impossible!'

'Oh, I assure you it is quite possible. Yes, you were dispatched, so to speak, by Mr. Potter. You passed through the Veil into the "next world" — as I believe you refer to it as.' He watched her understanding. 'You have come here to be judged, and have been found wanting. Your soul will be consumed.'

'I have come here to do nothing! — nothing but kill you!' she replied forcefully.

He laughed gently as she gestured her hand forcefully at him.

'You are not skilled enough for wandless magic, my dear. And even if you were, you would not be able to use magic in this place.'

'… Who are you, old man?' she snarled, a little defeat in her voice.

'Ah, that is a question to which you will, unfortunately, not find the answer to. Your fate awaits, Madam Lestrange,' he said. 'Good bye.'

The old man stood there, smiling at her, and then his body started to sag. His features began to misshapen, and he seemingly disintegrated and morphed into a flow of small, ant-like creatures. The black mist appeared and hung above the creatures that were multiplying to great numbers. Bellatrix tried to take a step back, but was rooted to the spot magically. The creatures all scurried towards her — each one with a tiny row of razor sharp teeth.

They engulfed her as she let out the last scream she would ever make.

.~~*****~~.

Severus Snape and Poppy Pomfrey both exited the Floo one after the other. They rushed into the kitchen, where they found Albus Dumbledore leaning over Sirius Black, making small waving patterns with his wand. There was a pale blue dome covering Sirius.

'Ah, perfect. Thank you for coming so fast, we have a situation,' he said, gesturing to Sirius. He released his spell. 'I thought it prudent to put him in temporary status until you came.

'Is he hurt?' asked Madam Pomfrey, who hurried over to him and started waving her wand.

'I am not sure, he seems fine, but unresponsive. I have yet to try to revive him. I thought it best to wait for your prognosis.'

'Albus, he seems to be in perfect health — there's no …' she waved her wand again, stunned. 'Oh my! There's no sign of physical or magical deterioration! I-I don't understand. Albus, this is impossible,' she said, looking at him with confusion etched in her features.

'Yes, he sustained an injury from a blasting curse, but came out without so much as a scratch,' he said. 'Most peculiar — but rather fortunate I must say.'

'No, Albus. That's not what I meant. There's no deterioration! Nothing at all. It's as if he never even went to Azkaban! Months of imprisonment will cause muscle loss and organ damage that never fully heals. Every prisoner who is released has some sort of decrease in their magic. Their cores are damaged over time and the Dementors accelerate that. Many who survive Azkaban come out practically as Squibs,' she said in exasperation. 'Even your everyday witch or wizard has some sort of deterioration — it happens naturally with age. Mr. Black on the other hand, has none.'

She sat down on one of the chairs. 'None, Albus! His core is as healthy as it's ever been. He's as patched up as the day he was born. Organs, muscles — you name it! Morgana on high, what happened to him?'

'Sirius was caught up in an incident at the Department of Mysteries,' he said simply.

'So what caused this … this — well … this miracle!?'

'It would seem that travel through an ancient archway in the Department of Mysteries is responsible for his condition, Poppy. I do not know the specifics, but it seems passing through the Veil and returning seems to have had a rather positive outcome.'

'Albus, no-one goes through the Veil and returns!' said Snape sharply. 'It is simply not possible. I have read the Unspeakable's research, and it is surely a one way trip. The Ministry has used this method for humane execution for years, and not one, not ONE person has ever returned. I say we take caution; this may not be Black. If we —'

Dumbledore held up a hand gently to stop the potions master and peered through the top of his half-moon glasses.

'Severus, I know your feelings on the matter, but trust me; this _is_ Sirius Black. I have confirmed his magical signature myself. There has been ample time for Polyjuice or any other potion to wear off.'

Madam Pomfrey attempted to revive him. Dumbledore gave her a knowing look.

'Sometimes the body doesn't respond to magic after the status spell I used — maybe some more natural means would work … Severus, I would like you to try to wake him, if you would be so kind …' said the old man.

Snape reached angrily into his bag and pulled out a small green vial, uncorked it and thrust it under Sirius's nose. Within seconds he was awake and flailing his arms in the air, trying to attack the person who was trying to poison him. Poppy snatched the vial from his hand. She scowled.

'Did you have to use this, Severus?' she asked

'We wanted results,' he said. 'It worked, did it not?'

'Bundimun Venom!? Honestly, what a dreadful thing to do! There are kinder ways!'

She huffed and turned away from him. Dumbledore sent him a look that suggested he was displeased with Snape's choice. He ignored it.

'B-bloody hell,' said Sirius, coughing. He looked up and saw the occupants of the room. 'Going a bit strong there *cough* with the aftershave, eh *cough* Snivellus?'

Snape looked like he wanted to skin the man alive, but refrained. The man had answers, and by thunder he was going to give them to him. He could have his revenge later. He leaned over the man and put on his most intimidating scowl.

'_Where_,' he asked, his voice dripping with venom, 'did the Veil take you? And _how_, pray tell, did you _manage to return_?'

Sirius paused for a second and looked Snape in the eyes. The room shifted and Snape found himself looking at — himself? Except, he was on a large, heart-shaped bed, dressed in frilly pink lingerie and was being — well, the best word would be "molested", by the combination of a love struck Percy Weasley and an amorous Dumbledore. Percy was in the process of trailing a large peacock feather across Snape's bare stomach and down to his underwear, following the trail with small, delicate kisses. Dumbledore slipped a hand into the pink knickers — all the while unzipping the tight, leather catsuit he was wearing all the way to the bottom; exposing his throbbing …

Shocked and sickened, he was forced back into his own mind and fell back against the table, rattling the china and knocking over a few candles.

'Snoop around my thoughts again, _Snivellus_,' said Black, now looking menacing and leaning closer to Snape, 'and it'll be a LOT worse next time. I hear Harry's uncle has been feeling a little … _lonely_ …'

Pomfrey looked scandalised, 'You used Legillimancy on him? Severus, that is ILLEGAL! — Surely you know that!'

Snape ignored her, stepped away from Black and stood up straighter, brushing off his robes, trying to look nonchalant. He was a little shaken but was trying not to show it. He looked towards Dumbledore and shuddered slightly.

'Head … Headmaster, if I am not needed, I shall return to my school duties …'

Dumbledore looked slightly amused and nodded. Snape returned the nod, and turned to leave. His need for answers were forgotten as that image began to surface again. Snape felt the bile rise in his throat. There was a small burst of green light as the flames of the Floo roared to life. Seconds later, he was gone.

'So, my lad, we are dying to hear what happened to you,' said Dumbledore with a smile.

Sirius chuckled as he began his tale, 'You're dying? Well, I DIED!'

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A/N:

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Hah, no cliffhanger this chapter! I'm not going to have them all the time, that would be silly. I do like Snape — I think he's a great character; so expect more of the greasy-haired git! I'm not that confident writing him yet though, hopefully I'll grow into him, so to speak.

This is a shorter chapter, yes, but the next one is going to be quite a bit longer, so patience amigos!

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Sithslayer69: Thank you! I will try to update as often as I can. It really depends on the time I have — at the moment I have a lot of free time and a zest for writing, so I can churn through chapters fairly quickly.

CrazyDuck5280: Thank you, too! Ask, and you shall receive!

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I also want to give a big "thank you" to everyone who has favourited and/or followed my story so far! You are the life-blood that drives me. The philosopher to my stone, the goblet to my fire. Keep it real, people *represent*.

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Oh, here be Spoilers! → The next chapter will be titled "Reunions".

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